Once the kids were comfortable on their wobbly legs, we moved those first doelings up to the kidding barn where they’ll be spending the rest of their adolescent days. The next hurdle: learning to feed from their “sucker bucket.” Our girls did an awesome job- with just a bit of coaching, they were latched-on to the bucket and gulping away after a mere few seconds.

We’re also excited to welcome Syrup’s heathy twins (a doe and a buck) into the herd! They were born today around 2:00 PM and will be joining the rest of kids in the kidding barn tonight.

Our first two baby goats were born yesterday morning from Margot, the second goat due. The doeling kids are both very healthy and have been gulping lots of colostrum from their mother. We are anticipating a few more births this afternoon, Syrup is still in the running.

This is Stephanie and Noah taking over the Consider Bardwell Farm blog! We are awaiting our inaugural kid: our first doe is Syrup. She was due on Friday (two days late!). We’ve been keeping a close eye on her for the past few days, but she hasn’t shown all the signs of a ready mama just yet. Coincidentally, we spent much of yesterday afternoon collecting sap from sugar maples around West Pawlet that Crooked Stack Sugarhouse is going to turn into delicious maple syrup.

Stephanie and Noah arrived fresh from Bushwick, Brooklyn on Monday to experience the ins and outs of life on a goat dairy and lend us a hand with kidding season. We are excited to have them on board! Our first kids are due this weekend and we are well-prepared for their arrival; kidding pens are bedded down, heat lamps are in place, sucker buckets are washed, and milking parlor is freshly painted. Now we wait…

The CBF farmers are handing the blogging reins to the interns for kidding season. Stay tuned for Stephanie and Noah’s kidding season posts!

Yesterday we decided our group of twenty-five pullets (young chickens) were ready to join the rest of the laying flock. A chicken, no matter how timid and flighty, can be caught with ease at night. They sit on their roost, completely oblivious to any looming predator or threat. So, whenever we have to move a group of chickens we simply wait until nightfall when we can walk up to them, pick them up, set them in the bed of the truck, and bring them to their new abode.

Our supply of first cutting hay was running short in the main barn (where kidding and milking take place), so taking advantage of the complete lack of snow, we pulled the hay elevator out of storage and moved a few hundred bales from the back barn.